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Minor point but one that I think is valuable. Decimating something is to reduce it by 1/10th. You are thinking of it as an analogy for destroy which it is not.
by josh2600 12y ago
Minor point but one that I think is valuable. Decimating something is to reduce it by 1/10th. You are thinking of it as an analogy for destroy which it is not.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- jessaustin 12y agoHave you read that link? Do you know what is under discussion here? The actual misunderstanding is between reducing something by a tenth and reducing it by a great deal. In that context, "decimate" does indeed mean to reduce by a tenth. Even the most pessimistic legalization forecasts see greater changes in trafficking than a reduction of a tenth. Maybe you're not a churchgoer, but the additional meaning of "tithe" discussed in your link confirms even further that a tenth is what "decimate" is about, because those who tithe, typically tithe a tenth of their incomes. [EDIT:] Language changes, and attempts to avert such changes, are both part of what "language" means. Don't even get me started on "penultimate". b^) I wouldn't have commented, except that parent (since deleted) was a fairly aggressive, specific, and substantially incorrect ("nuh-uh! decimation can also refer to tithing!") criticism of josh2600's comment.
- jpindar 12y agoLanguage changes whether you like it or not. There are plenty of changes happening that I don't like, but I realize that in most cases it is a waste of time to fight them.
- jotux 12y agoEvery dictionary I can find defines decimate as "destroy a large part of." A few of them mention the 1-in-10 definition as obsolete.